Beds with lateral sliding panels

ABSTRACT

A bed having head and foot panels with lateral panels therebetween. The lateral panels may be raised or lowered to a high position, a low position or any position in between. Provision is also made for locking the lateral panels in the top or bottom positions. The lateral panels may be removed to convert the bed to a bench or a stringer on the bottom of the bed may be removed and the bed turned over to convert it to a playpen.

I United States Patent 11 1 1111 3,786,524

Mathou 1 Jan. 22, 1974 BEDS WITH LATERAL SLIDING PANELS FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPUCATIONS lnvemorl Marcel M8010", 12 Gages, France 278,239 5/1949 Switzerland 5/100 [22] Filed: Mar. 1, 1971 135,427 5/1919 Great Brltam 5/100 [21] Appl. N0.: 119,7 8 Primary Examiner-Casmir A, Nunberg Attorney, Agent, or FirmSughrue, Rothwell, Mion, [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Zmn & Macpeak Feb. 27 1970 France 70.07142 [57] ABSTRACT D 3, 1970 F 70.43520 ec tame A bed having head and foot panels with lateral panels [52 us. c1. 5/100, 5/11 therebefween- The lateral Panels may be raised 511 1111. C1 A4711 9/00 lower! to a high Position, 310W P any P {58] Field of Search /99, 100, 331, 11 in between Provision is also made for Ocking the lateral panels in the top or bottom positions. The lat- [56] References Cited eral panels may be removed to convert the bed to a UNITED STATES PATENTS bench or a stringer on the bottom of the bed may be removed and the bed turned over to convert it to a 3,634,894 1/1972 Harblson 5/100 playpen 1,589,352 6/1926 Boardman 5/100 2,341,451 12/1944 Landry 5/100 11. Claims, 9 Drawing Figures 10 1o6 l l 2 11 0 r 115 l 1 11 l l 127 PATENIEU JAN 22 E954 SHEH 2 BF 3 PAIENIEUJAN2? m4 SBEET 3 0F 3 FIG. 9

BEDS WITH LATERAL SlLllDlNG PANELS BACKGROUND OF THE lNVENTlON 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to beds with lateral sliding panels and more particularly to a bed, especially for a child, whose lateral panels can be regulated to high and low positions as well as positions therebetween by simply sliding the ends of the panels on the slide-equipped posts of the headboards and the footboards. The lateral panels are immobilized in a removable manner in their top and bottom positions by a simple elastic retraction device. Beds according to this invention may be converted into a bench by the simple removal of one of the lateral panels and the mounting of squaring and counterbracing brackets between the ends of the longitudinal girders of the stringer and the corresponding posts of the panels at the head and the foot.

2. Description of the Prior Art In the prior art, there are may cribs with lateral panels which can be adjusted in terms of height with respect to the level of the mattress so as to make it possible to select the height of the guard rail on the basis of the childs age and its docility or bed behavior. These known beds involve many inconveniences as regards the operation involved in the adjustment of the positions of the lateral panels because of the complexity and the manipulation involved. In the prior art devices, the lateral panels have, at their ends, rings which slide on rods associated with the posts at the head and the foot of the bed. The panels are immobilized at a selected height by means of a blocking screw or set-pins that are stuck into the holes in the rods. This operation of locking the lateral panels in the position is in itself very complicated, and does not offer all of the safety guarantees which one is entitled to expect in view of the function involved, the primary function being to keep the lateral panels of the bed itself in position in case the infant should try to release them.

SUMMARY OF THE lNVENTlON Consequently, this invention is intended to provide a crib with adjustable lateral panels to maintain the height requirement, involving an immobilization and assembly device for these panels which is simple and very safe while eliminating the inconveniences involved in the prior art devices.

This invention furthermore has the principal objective of providing a childs bed with easy construction and assembly, incorporating devices for the attachment and immobilization of the lateral panels at various heights. The devices are easy to handle while still offering very great safety and can be locked in all positions on the posts at the foot and the head of the bed without requiring awkward or complicated manipulations.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a bed, especially for children, whose lateral panels are adjustable in terms of height between at least one top and one bottom position without requiring the manipulation of any position fixation means, these positions being furnished by the automatic interlocking of an elastic locking means.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a bed with sliding means for the lateral panels on the posts of the head and foot panels which also constitute the means for mounting and assembling the bed and where the portion of the stringer constitutes the device for squaring the latter.

Another object of this invention is to furnish a bed which can be converted into a bench by elimination of at least one lateral panel, without dismantling the remaining portions of the bed and with the simple addition of reinforcing brackets between the portion of the stringer and at least two of the posts corresponding to the ends of the eliminated lateral panel.

Another object of this invention is to provide for the sufficient displacement of the lateral panels of the bed, in terms of height, up to the proximity of the top ends of the posts at the head and the foot of the bed, so that when they are immobilized in their maximum height position and after removal of the support panel forming the stringer, the bed frame can be turned around in an upside-down position to furnish a playpen for the infant.

According to the invention, such a bed with lateral panels that slide in terms of height on the posts of the head and foot panels is characterized by the fact that: (a) its lateral panels, at each of their ends, involve at least two lined-up members forming sliding members; (b) its head and foot board posts each have at least one form of slide designed to accept the sliding engagement of two corresponding sliding members, at least one locking device with elastic retraction, designed to support the end of the corresponding lateral panel in the high position and a member with a removable stop at each end to limit the movement of the lateral panels in terms of height; and (0) its stringer portion is in the form of a rectangular framework each of whose corners is designed to be able to engage the supports carried by the posts.

Furthermore, according to the invention, each member forming a sliding member is made up of two jaws that are operated opposite each other, whose arms are so arranged as to be parallel to the posts of the beds foot and head panels when the lateral panels are mounted on them. The two jaws can be traversed by the screw rod of a bolt positioned perpendicularly to the posts and passing through a hole situated in the end portion of each longitudinal beam of the lateral panels. Each jaw is preferably made up of steel spring wire, bent in the form of a pin and whose ends are united so as to give this jaw a V-shaped configuration whose point is formed by said united ends. In each device the united ends of each of the two pins are engaged, in opposition, in a hole preferably lined by a tube, situated at some distance to the rear and parallel to it, traversed by the bolt rod, the loop of each jaw forming the arms of the jaw and engaging in the corresponding post groove during the assembly of the lateral panels.

More specifically and according to this invention, the members forming sliding members are each made up of a forked piece having a collar with two branches involving two flat clips laterally opposite each other and spaced apart from each other. The members are designed to enter into sliding contact with the bottom of the slides of the posts, the collar being attached to the corresponding end of each lateral panel and each sliding member being made of plastic material selected to have a low friction coefficient. The slide form on each post is made up of two longitudinal grooves that are opposite in terms of their bottoms and whose recesses are essentially perpendicular to the plane of the lateral panels, the distance between these bottoms being slightly less than the distance between the clip flats of the slides. Each slide is furthermore so designed that when its clips are engaged in the corresponding slide grooves of a post, it will, between its branch-off recess and the face of the post opposite this cavity, present a sufficient passageway for the locking device in the retraction position. Each locking device with elastic retraction is in the form of a rod bent at an acute angle, giving the appearance of a right triangle, pointing downward. The point fixed in the face of the post and its small side form the support for the underside of the corresponding end of a lateral panel. The small side is capable of penetrating into a hole in the post provided for this purpose when the rod is pressed against the post. Each removable stop member is designed in the form of a post end piece to limit the course of the sliding members in the slides and, by the same token, the height movement to the maximum top and bottom positions of the lateral panels.

Other objectives and features of this invention will emerge from the following specification describing two embodiments of this bed, illustrated in the attached drawings where:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective view of an assembled bed with its lateral panels in the top position.

FIG. 2 is a detailed view on a larger scale showing the circled portion in FIG. ll.

FIG. 3 is a cross section view taken along the line. 3-3 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an overall view of a pin forming one of the jaws of one of the devices for the immobilization and fixation of the lateral panels upon the head and foot panels of the bed.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another bed made according to the invention.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the upper end of the post of a head or foot panel, during the assembly of the bed in FIG. 5, that is to say, during the engagement of a sliding member of the lateral panel into the shape of the slide of this post.

FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view of the lower portion of a post at the place of the fixation of a corner of the stringer and of the device for locking a lateral panel in the high position; this view corresponds to the circled portion in FIG. l, on a larger scale, but viewed from a different angle so as to show the details better.

FIG. 8 is an elevation view of the lower portion of a post shown in perspective in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 illustrates rollers which may be used with the prefered embodiments.

Referring now to FIG. ll, we can see that the bed frame in the example shown, consists of four panels ll, 2, 3, and 4, each in the form of a rectangular frame with vertical bars distributed like those ofa ladder. The bed comprises a headboard II and a footboard 2 whose posts are prolonged downward in terms of length, corresponding to the desired height at which one wishes to place the stringer 5, and two lateral panels 3 and 4 whose longitudinal beams L are essentially spaced at the same interval as the vertical distance between the upper and lower traverses T of each head and footboard. The bed also involves a rectangular panel form ing the stringer 5 whose longitudinal beams are pro longed at each end so as to be supported against the posts on the lower traverses of the head and footboards and whose end traverses in the form of ladders connecting said longitudinal beams, having their exterior traverse against the interior of the bars of the head and foot panels. This stringer panel thus maintains the square shape between the four panels of the beds framework. On each post M, top and bottom grooves R are provided and distributed in pairs of the same length, each pair being made in the plane of the head and foot panels, that is to say, one groove being opposite to the other one in this plane. In the end portion of each longitudinal beam of the lateral panels there are placed assembly devices D so that these panels can be assembled upon the posts of the head and footboards.

As we can see more easily by referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, each of these assembly devices is made up in the form of a vise involving two jaws '7 arranged face to face and whose arms 6 are so arranged as to be parallel to the post M of the beds foot and head panels when the lateral panels are mounted on them. The two jaws 7 are traversed by the screw rod 8 of a bolt positioned perpendicularly to the posts M and going through a hole 9 situated in the end portion of each longitudinal beam of the lateral panels. Each jaw 7 (see detail, FIG. 4) preferably consists of a spring steel wire bent in the form of a pin whose ends III are combined to give this jaw a V-shaped configuration whose point is formed by said united ends, which are folded back together at an angle of at least with respect to the plane of the V when the ends of the latters branches form the branch 6 of the pin which is bent essentially perpendicular to the plane of the V of the same side as said united ends and by a value greater than the depth of grooves R. In each device the united ends of the two pins or jaws are engaged, in opposition, in a hole llll, preferably lined by a tube 112. The hole is situated at a distance to the rear and parallel to the end 9 of the lateral panel traversed by the rod tl of the bolt, the loop 6 of each jaw forming the arm of the latter and engaging in the corresponding post groove during the mounting of the lateral panels.

We furthermore note that, as we can see in FIG. 2, a locking system 114 for the purpose of locking the lateral panels in the high position is provided on each post and consists of a spring steel wire in the shape of a U whose branch ends are inserted in the post at a desired position so that the upper branch l5 will serve as a support for the end of at least one upper or lower longitudinal beam of the lateral panel. The upper branch is capable of being inserted into the post so that the assembly of the system may be retracted when the other branch 16 is fixed permanently in the post IVI, this system in locking position being presented in the form of a triangular bracket whose triangle base is formed by the upper branch.

Referring now to FIGS. 5, 6, '7 and 8, we can see that the bed, shown in a second version of this invention, consists of two head and foot panels, I01 and I02, and two lateral panels 103 and MM, arranged in square fashion by means of a portion of a stringer in the form of a rectangular framework 105. The panels lltlll and 102 are in the form of full panels, revealing laterally and in one piece the bed posts 106 and W7, which are similar to each other, but which are machined symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal axis of the bed. Each of these posts W6 and W7 involves a slide form consisting of two longitudinal grooves 1113 and 109, made over the entire length of the post and opposite in terms of their bottoms, as well as a stop member 110 and 111 at each end which are attached in a removable manner, for example, by means of a screw 112. Each post also has in its lower portion, on the one hand, a locking device with elastic retraction in the form of a spring steel pin 113, attached in the post at 1141 and on the upper portion of which there is supported the corresponding lateral panel, when in the high position, by its lower sliding member 115, and, on the other hand, by a support member for a corner of the rectangular framework 105 in the form of an angle-iron peaton 1 16 whose short branch is engaged in a hole 1 17 in this corner of the framework. The lateral panels 1113 and 104 are in this version of the invention designed in the form of a ladder panel with vertical bars whose upper longitudinal girder 11% and lower girder 119 have a slide member 115 at each of their ends. Each slide member consists of a collar 121 in the form of a socket forcemounted on the longitudinal girder end 122, carrying two branches 123 and 124 terminated by straight clips 125 and 126 facing each other, which are made in conformity with each other so as to slidably engage the respective slide grooves 108 and 109. Furthermore, the bottom of branch 120 of each of the slide members is so designed as to allow free passage for the pin 113 when the latter is pressed against its corresponding post so as to make it possible to place the corresponding lateral panel in its low position. We must note, on the other hand, that the slide members 115 are preferably made of plastic material selected so as to have a low friction coefficient and thus to facilitate the sliding of the clips in the grooves of the posts.

Automatically orientatable rollers, as shown in FIG. 9, can be attached by their pivot in the lower end of the posts. A device for the immobilization of these rollers is furthermore provided on each post so as to block them both in terms of rotation and in terms of pivoting. When member 132 is in the position shown point 133 engages wheel 134 and prevents it from moving. When it is desired to move the crib, member 132 is rotated in the direction of arrow A thus freeing wheel 134 to move.

Furthermore, according to the invention, holes 127 and 128, for the engagement of the position blocking screw of the slide members, can be provided in each post, the holes 127 serving to block the upper slide members when the lateral panels are in the low position, while the holes 128 serve to block the lower slide members when the lateral panels are in the high position, as shown in P16. 5. It is of course understood that these blocking screws are used only when the lateral panels are to remain fixed.

Finally, as proposed in the invention, such a bed can be converted into a bench by eliminating one of the lateral panels. In effect, attachment holes for the support brackets or the stringer longitudinal girders (not shown) are provided at 129 in the lower portion of the posts and at' 1311 in the longitudinal girders of the framework so as, for example, to reinforce the side of the bed where the lateral panel has been eliminated and possibly to reinforce the other sides. By way of additional remarks, we note that each of these beds can also be used as a playpen by removing the framework form ing the stringer and turning the bed upside-down while the panels are in the high position.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a bed having vertically sliding lateral panels, a stringer, a head panel, and a foot panel, the improvements characterized by:

a. said lateral panels comprising longitudinal beams at the top and bottom of each panel and at least two detachable sliding members at each end of said longitudinal beams;

b. said head and foot panels comprising posts at each end thereof, each post having:

1. at least one recess means for receiving said sliding members,

2. at least one locking means for supporting said lateral panels in a top position, said locking means being retractable, and

3. stop means to limit the vertical movement of said lateral panels;

c. said stringer comprising a rectangular framework, the corners of which engage supports carried by said posts, and

d. said sliding members comprising a forked piece having a collar with two branches and two flat end clips laterally opposed wherein said collar is fitted on the ends of said longitudinal beams and detachable thereform and said end clips are positioned to be in sliding contact with the recess means of said post.

2. A bed according to claim 1 wherein both vertically sliding lateral panels are identical.

3. A bed according to claim 2 wherein each vertically sliding lateral panel is fully symmetrical about each of three mutually orthogonal planes bisecting each panel.

4. The bed according to claim 1 wherein said recess means in said posts comprises longitudinal grooves located in a plane perpendicular to the plane of said lateral panels.

5. The bed according to claim 1 wherein said sliding member is designed such that when it engages said recess means in said post there is a sufficient passageway for said locking means to pass between said post and said sliding member when said locking means are in their retracted position.

6. The bed according to claim 1 wherein said locking means comprises a rod bent at an acute angle to form a right triangle with the face of said post such that the short leg of the triangle forms the support for the underside of the corresponding end of said lateral panel,

said short leg being capable of penetrating into a hole in said post.

7. The bed according to claim 1 wherein said stop means comprises an end piece mounted on the ends of said post for limiting the course of said sliding members in the vertical direction.

8. The bed according to claim 1 further comprising screw means for insertion into a hole in each of said posts, said screw means blocking said sliding members at predetermined positions.

9. The bed according to claim 1 wherein said posts and said stringer each include hole means for receiving brackets therein whereby said brackets will cooperate with the posts and stringer to hold the bed in a square relationship upon the removal of said lateral panels.

10. The bed according to claim 1 further comprising end means mounted on the bottoms of said posts for engaging an automatically orientatable roller said roller 5 by said comprising means for immobilizing itself.

lateral, head and foot panels. 

1. In a bed having vertically sliding lateral panels, a stringer, a head panel, and a foot panel, the improvements characterized by: a. said lateral panels comprising longitudinal beams at the top and bottom of each panel and at least two detachable sliding members at each end of said longitudinal beams; b. said head and foot panels comprising posts at each end thereof, each post having:
 1. at least one recess means for receiving said sliding members,
 2. at least one locking means for supporting said lateral panels in a top position, said locking means being retractable, and
 3. stop means to limit the vertical movement of said lateral panels; c. said stringer comprising a rectangular framework, the corners of which engage supports carried by said posts, and d. said sliding members comprising a forked piece having a collar with two branches and two flat end clips laterally opposed wherein said collar is fitted on the ends of said longitudinal beams and detachable thereform and said end clips are positioned to be in sliding contact with the recess means of said post.
 2. A bed according to claim 1 wherein both vertically sliding lateral panels are identical.
 2. at least one locking means for supporting said lateral panels in a top position, said locking means being retractable, and
 3. A bed according to claim 2 wherein each vertically sliding lateral panel is fully symmetrical about each of three mutually orthogonal planes bisecting each panel.
 3. stop means to limit the vertical movement of said lateral panels; c. said stringer comprising a rectangular framework, the corners of which engage supports carried by said posts, and d. said sliding members comprising a forked piece having a collar with two branches and two flat end clips laterally opposed wherein said collar is fitted on the ends of said longitudinal beams and detachable thereform and said end clips are positioned to be in sliding contact with the recess means of said post.
 4. The bed according to claim 1 wherein said recess means in said posts comprises longitudinal grooves located in a plane perpendicular to the plane of said lateral panels.
 5. The bed according to claim 1 wherein Said sliding member is designed such that when it engages said recess means in said post there is a sufficient passageway for said locking means to pass between said post and said sliding member when said locking means are in their retracted position.
 6. The bed according to claim 1 wherein said locking means comprises a rod bent at an acute angle to form a right triangle with the face of said post such that the short leg of the triangle forms the support for the underside of the corresponding end of said lateral panel, said short leg being capable of penetrating into a hole in said post.
 7. The bed according to claim 1 wherein said stop means comprises an end piece mounted on the ends of said post for limiting the course of said sliding members in the vertical direction.
 8. The bed according to claim 1 further comprising screw means for insertion into a hole in each of said posts, said screw means blocking said sliding members at predetermined positions.
 9. The bed according to claim 1 wherein said posts and said stringer each include hole means for receiving brackets therein whereby said brackets will cooperate with the posts and stringer to hold the bed in a square relationship upon the removal of said lateral panels.
 10. The bed according to claim 1 further comprising end means mounted on the bottoms of said posts for engaging an automatically orientatable roller said roller comprising means for immobilizing itself.
 11. The bed according to claim 1 wherein said stringer includes an angle-iron peaton for engaging a corresponding hole in the posts thereby providing support for a corner of the rectangular framework formed by said lateral, head and foot panels. 